Biden announces year-end pardons

Friday’s announcement by President Biden included six full pardons for those who were convicted while they were young or decades ago and have since completed their sentences.

Five people were pardoned for drug or alcohol offenses and one woman was convicted of murdering her husband.

This fall Mr. Biden granted categorical pardons For thousands of people convicted for simple marijuana possession. Presidents of the United States are known to issue pardons at the close of a year or at the end a term.

According to the White House, these are the people to whom the president will issue full pardons on Friday.

• Beverly Ann Ibn TamasShe was 80 years old when she was convicted for second-degree murder in the death of her husband. She was 33 years old and pregnant at the time. She testified that her husband beat, threatened, and verbally abused the woman. She claimed that her husband threatened and physically assaulted her before she shot him. She was sentenced to anywhere from one to five years imprisonment. Her case prompted courts to recognize battered women syndrome and she was appointed director of nursing for a healthcare business. According to the White House, she is still working at the Ohio facility as a case manager at age 80.
• Charlie Byrnes JacksonHe pleaded guilty to one count each of possession and sale distilled spirits over a single illicit whiskey transaction when he turned 18. The sentence was five years probation for the South Carolina man. The White House stated that Jackson was an active member of his church and had used his carpentry skills in renovating church buildings.
• Gary Parks DavisArizona 66-year-old pleaded guilty at 22 to using a telephone to facilitate an illegal cocaine transaction. He was sentenced to six months in county jail and probation. David eventually earned a bachelor’s degree, and started his own landscaping company and managed construction projects. According to the White House, he has used his skills for the local booster club as well as the local chamber of commerce and rotary club.
• Edward Lincoln De Coito III California, now 50, was a former U.S. Army soldier who pleaded guilty at 23 to being involved in a marijuana trafficking scheme. He was a courier on only a few occasions. From March 1999 to December 2000, he was in prison. He was awarded the Army Good Conduct Medal, and the Humanitarian Service Medal in the Army and Army Reserves.
• John Dix Nock III Florida, now 72, pleaded guilty to renting and using a place to grow marijuana plants 27 years back. In 1996, he was sentenced to six months in community confinement and three years of supervised freedom. According to the White House, he paid the government the rent value of the house he rented out to his brother. He mentors young contractors.
• Vincente Ray FloresHe pleaded guilty to using ecstasy while serving in the military at the age of 37. He was sentenced for four months and ordered to pay $700 in forfeiture for four months. His rank was also reduced. He was sent to the Air Force Return to Duty Program for six months. He is still on active duty and has received multiple military awards. He has also volunteered for charities through his military unit, including Habitat For Humanity and the White House notes.

The White House made the announcement while Mr. Biden was on vacation in St. Croix with his family.